Summer's Second Greyhounds Football Camp Underway in Clayton

Major League Baseball is in full swing. The U.S. women's soccer team has made headlines by advancing to the semi-finals of the FIFA Women's World Cup. So football might be the last thing on many local sports fans’ minds.

But the athletes who will take the field in late August have been working toward their first game for several weeks. The Greyhounds football team is holding its second football camp of the summer at Gay Field this week. The voluntary camp started Monday and ends Friday. On Monday, more than 30 athletes attended. The football hopefuls participated in offensive, defensive, and special teams’ drills.  

“We’re able to slow everything down,” Greyhound Coach Scott Weissman said. “We’re able to show everyone what their steps are. Today is an introduction. Tomorrow, we’ll get more technical.”

The Clayton Board of Education hired Weissman this summer . He served as the Greyhounds’ defensive coordinator in 2010. Clayton finished the 2010 campaign with an 8-4 record. Weissman said the team was successful because players “knew what to do.”

“We put in a new defense last year, and the kids responded,” he said. “We’re going to be able to go a step further this year and do a few more things.”

Most athletes who plan to play football have participated in voluntary weight training and a voluntary seven-on-seven football league over the summer, Weissman said.

“I like what we’ve seen all summer,” he said. “The kids have been here and worked hard. We’ve performed pretty well in the seven-on-seven league we’re in. We have a lot of people coming back defensively, so that will help.”

The assistant coaches—Barry Ford, Kurt Leopold, Joe Scotino, Dan McMullen, Mick Pictaggio, Doug Verby, Heath Kent and Andy Boeyink—all worked the camp. 

Jeffrey Rothenberg, a senior offensive and defensive lineman, attended camp Monday. He finished the 2010 season with nine solo tackles and five assists.

“We improved a lot last year from the year before,” Rothenberg said. “Last year was a great experience, we really came together. We’re more of a family than any football team I’ve been on. We have high expectations for this year.”  

Clayton finished the 2009 season with a 1-9 record.

Freshman Jake Brown also attended the camps.

“I’m looking for a brand new beginning and building my way up to the top,” Brown said. “I want to be in a starting position eventually.”

Brown, a longtime football player, hopes to play quarterback. He served that role in 2010 as a member of the Clayton Junior Greyhounds.

The earlier Clayton football camp happened in the first week of the summer.